Apparatus for examining material containing information



N 10, 1964 L. CONGQST HORTA ETAL 3,156,427

APPARATUS FOR EXANINING MATERIAL CONTAINING INFORMATION 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 20, 1962 N 1 1 4 L. CONGOST HORTA ETAL 3 15 427 APPARATUS FOR EXAMINING MATERIAL CONTAINING INFORMATION Filed March 20, 1962 2' Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.4

United States Patent 1 Claim. 61. 242-67.4)

This invention relates to an apparatus for examining material containing information such as lists or schedules, more precisely flexible strips of paper, fabric or similar material, bearing lists or schedules of information, such as postal addresses, telephone numbers, selling prices or other data concerning goods.

As is known, for examining such material, it is convenient to wind it onto two rollers and examine it as the material is being unwound from one roller and wound onto the other.

Already known for this purpose are appliances comprising two material winding rollers which are placed separately in the winding and unwinding state, a driving shaft rotating at will in one direction or the other and a transmission device which rocks co-axially with said driving shaft and which transmits the rotation of said shaft by friction to one or the other of said winding rollers according to the direction of rotation of the same.

The apparatus according to this invention belongs to that type and satisfies the principal purpose of producing the winding and unwinding of the material very rapidly and of effecting the same in such manner that the inertia of the rotary members does not cause disturbances by reason of possible slackening of the flexible strip.

According to this invention, the apparatus is characterised in that the rocking transmission device comprises a pinion having a small number of teeth and of small diameter and a co-axial wheel of larger diameter rotatable with said pinion and provided with a smooth peripheral edge which causes one or the other of the winding rollers to rotate by friction, and in that said driving shaft is rotatable with" a toothed disc having a large number of teeth which meshes permaanently with said pinion.

' One embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of the apparatus incorporating the invention,

FIGURE 2 is a side view of the apparatus taken on the lI-II of FIGURE 1 with the cover removed,

FIGURE 3'is a side view of the apparatus taken on the line IIII1I of FIGURE 1, with the cover removed,

FIGURE 4 is a section taken on the line IV.-IV of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 5 is a section taken on the line VV of FIGUREZ.

FIGURE 6 is a section taken on the line VI'VI of FIGURE 1 and FIGURE 7 is a section taken on the line of FIGURE 5.

The apparatus basically comprises a casing 1, winding rollers 2 and 3, a rocking transmission device 4, an actuating device 5, and a braking device 30, see FIGURES 3 and 4.

The casing 1 consists of a base 6 and a cover 7 provided with an aperture 8 for examining information bearing material 9 through a pane of glass 10. The cover is removable so as to render said material and the mechanism of the apparatus accessible. The connection between the base 6 and the cover 7 is effected by means of flat bending springs 11 fixed to the cover which are introduced into perforations 12 formed in the base 6 so that AVII-VII ice they exert a pressure to hold the cover fastened to the base, which pressure is readily overcome, if required, by pressing a button 13. Base 6 is provided at the bottom with resilient pads or feet 14 for supporting the apparatus.

The winding rollers 2 and 3 are arranged parallel to one another on shafts 15 and 16, respectively, which are supported by means of bearings 17 in the side plates 18, FIGURE 5.

The transmission device 4 consists (FIGURES 2 and 4) of a wheel 19 having a smooth peripheral edge and mounted on a transverse shaft 21 parallel to those of the winding rollers, and of a rocking arm 4' pivoting around the driving shaft 27 to permit the wheel 19 to be brought up to the roller which is to be wound, this wheel 19 being co-axial and rotatable with a pinion 20 which is moved by the actuating device 5.

The device 4 actuates rollers 2 and 3 by means of pulleys 22 having a peripheral edge 23 which engages the peripheral edge of the wheel 19 to produce the frictional contact for the transmission of the rotation of said wheel to the corresponding pulley 22. These pulleys are mounted at one end of the respective shafts 15 and 16 in such manner as to be rotatable therewith.

The wheel 19 and pinion 20 are mounted on the same shaft 21 fastened to said rocking arm so that it projects therefrom. Positioned so that it is applied against the wheel 19 is a spiral spring 24 which, by friction creates a resisting couple between the pinion 20 and wheel assembly 19 which tends to oppose the rotation of said assembly. In this way, it is insured that the wheel 19 exerts against the pulley 22 a pressure suflicient for transmitting by friction the torque necessary for winding and unwinding the information bearing material.

The actuating device 5 is constituted by a toothed disc or gear 25, the teeth 26 of which mesh with those of the pinion 20 and which is mounted on a shaft 27 coupled to a crank handle 28 or to a driving device, such as an electric motor or the like. This shaft is equipped with a spiral spring 29 at the end remote from the crank handle.

A separate braking device 30 which is a substantially straight arm is based on a strip-type rocker or balance beam forming two flexible arms 30a and 30b (FIGURES 3 and 4) is mounted by means of a bearing 31 on the shaft 27 at its end remote from the crank handle 28. This bearing 31 is coupled by friction through the spiral spring 29 so that it can be carried along by the movement of said shaft, while the ends of both arms have a hookshaped bent portion 32' suitable for fitting round the contour of flywheels 32 and 33 fixedly connected at the end of each of the shafts 15 and 16 of the rollers 2 and 3, all in such manner that, for each direction of rotation of the crank handle, the rocker 30 is applied against either the flywheel 32 or 33 of the roller which is in process of unwinding the material 9, thus causing this roller to be arrested in its rotation when the handle ceases to be operated, thus this braking device nullifies the inertia acquired. Moreover, the frictional resistance created on the surface of the flywheel 32 or 33 causes a braking effort which enables the material 9 to be subjected to a tension which keeps it taut and prevents folds being formed and slackening occurring.

The hook-shaped bent portion 32 is located, as shown in FIG. 3, so that during its movement it contacts either flywheel 32 or 33 tangentially. The area of contact is along an annular sector ab and the peripheral velocity v of the flywheel has a direction substantially coinciding with the direction of approach of the resilient hook-shaped portion 32'. The hook-shaped portion 32' comes into contact with its corresponding flywheel, which is of circular shape, at the time when the driving shaft 27 is rotating the flywheel and moving the arm 36 so that the flywheel is moving in a direction to draw the hook-shaped CE portion 32 into contact with it and assist in the braking action. Similarly, when the direction of rotation of the flywheel is reversed the movement of the flywheel assists in pushing away the hook-shaped portion 32' of arm 30.

Two guide rollers 34 and 35, FIGURE 6, supplementing the winding rollers 2 and 3 are provided and mounted in the side plates 18 in such manner that the material 9 passes over these rollers, so that, during its intermediate travel, it is exposed immediately below the glass 10 of the aperture 8, which makes it perfectly visible from the outside. These guide rollers have no driving motion and are only rotated when the material 9 is caused to move when under examination.

For fastening the ends of the strip forming the material 9, terminal loops are provided thereon and these loops are introduced below pins 36 (FIGURES 5 and 7) located in a surface groove 37 of the rollers 2 and 3 in the longitudinal direction parallel to the shaft, enabling said pins to be at the same level as the periphery of the roller. Thus there is no projection of any kind, and the material 9 is permitted to be carried along in either direction of rotation. The pins 36 can easily be removed by their ends, which are fitted into a resilient clamp 38 having radial arms connected to the shaft, to facilitate the changing of the material 9 when necessary.

The two side plates 18 are rigidly connected by means of transverse rods 39.

A line 40 drawn diagonally from one end of the material 9 to the other intersects guides 41 provided with sliders 42 which define sections corresponding to certain of the headings from among those shown on the material 9. In this way, for example, where the material is a list comprising alphabetically arranged notes, by allocating a letter to each slider and suitably adjusting its position on the guides 41, location of said notes is facilitated when the list is examined.

What is claimed is:

An apparatus for examining material containing information, the apparatus comprising in combination;

(a) two winding rollers for the material to be examined which are placed disjunctively in the winding and unwinding state,

(b) a driving shaft rotatable at will in one direction or the other,

(c) transmission means for transmitting the rotation of the driving shaft to one or the other of the winding rollers corresponding to the direction of rotation of the driving shaft,

(d) a bearing mounted on the rotatable driving shaft,

(e) friction means including a spring mechanically associated with the rotatable driving shaft and the hearing so that the shaft transmits a torque to the bearing,

(f) two parts of circular shape solidly connected to the two winding rollers respectively,

(g) a substantially straight arm connected to the bearing and comprising two arm portions respectively associated with the two parts of circular shape,

(11) a resilient clamp carried by each arm portion and positioned on its respective arm portion to approach the corresponding part of circular shape upon movement of the arm in a direction tangential to the corresponding part of circular shape, wherein when one of said resilient clamps is in frictional contact with its associated circular part, the other resilient clamp is entirely disengaged from its associated circular part and the resilient clamps being shaped such that interference with the part of circular shape occurs in a defined angular sector where the peripheral velocity has a direction substantially coinciding with the direction of approach of the resilient clamp.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 448,801 3/91 Ramsperger 24274.1 X

557,571 4/96 Fish et al. 40-93 1,210,955 1/17 Langheck 24267.4 1,296,392 3/19 Hoffman 24274.1 1,571,610 2/26 Tingley 24267.4 1,831,294 11/31 Englund 40-53 1,842,067 1/32 Bredouw. 1,957,120 5/34 Weiss 24267.4 2,131,346 9/38 Fairchild 242741 X 2,687,259 8/54 Owens 24255.12 2,896,873 7/59 Mageoch 24267.4 3,003,270 10/61 Palm 4086 3,095,157 6/63 Nichols 24267.4

FOREIGN PATENTS 109,843 6/28 Austria.

665,628 9/38 Germany.

MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner.

HARRISON R. MOSELEY, Examiner. 

